Bowling game ball delivery device



Feb. 13, 1951 E. A. HAYDEN 2,541,583

BOWLING GAME BALL DELIVERY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Feb. 13, 1951 EN 2,541,583

BOWLING GAME BALL DELIVERY DEVICE Filed Nov. 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2five/2 01?- 550mb? @4912 Patented Feb. 13, 1951 7' s.

Evard A. Hayden, Des plaincs, Ill. Application November 5, 1945, SerialNo. 626.645

Claims. (01. ads-3s) 1. v M l 'Thi s invention'relate's in general to abowling game" and ismore particularly described as a ball deliverydevice in' which conditions similar to those inan actual standardbowling game are Simulated. Y

.An' object of the invention is to provide means for delivering abowling ball with a twisting or turning movement to give the ball a spinin either direction asit moves down the alley.

{A further object of the invention is to provide newand' improved meansfor engaging, releasing and imparting more or less speed to a bowlingball for a toy. bowling game. 4

Other .objects of the invention will appear in the specification orwill. be apparent from the accompanying drawingsin which flgig. l is aperspective view'of a toy bowling game inaccordance-with this inventionsetup ioruse but with the pin spotter in pin engaging position;

Fig. 2. is a sectional view showing a connecting joint for the alley astaken on the line22 of Fi 1; t "Fig; 3 is a sectional view as taken onthe line 3593 of Fig. 5 showing the pins with the pin spotting means inplace; v v

f Fig. 4 is a sectional View illustrating the construction and variablemovement of the ball delivgry means; s

spotting means as shown in Fig. 1;

f Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view as taken on the line 6--6 ofFig.4; and I Fig. 7 is a sectional view illustrating the ball holdingand releasing means.

"'"In a toy'bowling game it is diflicult to provide a construction whichwill actually represent and resemble the conditions and problems as theyappear in an actual bowling game. This may be due primarily to the factthat the pins, the alley or the ball are not truly representative of theproper proportions and sizes of the other parts and eleinents of thegame. In the present game the alley, pins and the ball are intended tobe proportional and accurately representative of the sizes andproportions of the parts as actually used- In addition, a simple pinspotting device is used in properly locating and positioning the pins sothat strikesrailroads, spares, and splits may be obtained'as in theactual playingofa full size game. .Perhaps the greatest improve ment isin themeans for simulating the actual delivery of a bowling ball, as tospeed, spinning of the ball in eitherlateral direction and modifying heball'delivery.- All of these conditions can Fig. 5 is a longitudinalsectional view of the pin UNITED STATES PATENT ;QFFlCE any particularplayer.

rial which is not subject to warping and itjis be changed at willdepending upon the desirejof,

Referring now more particularly to the draw'-, ings,v a bowling alley.ID in accordance with'this invention, may consist of a single unitarylength of board I I; which is preferably wall board of the compositetype but maybe of any suitable mat supported and strengthened at itsside edges by rails l 2 of wood or thelike secured thereto in anysuitable manner as by fastenin screws [3 in; serted through the boardinto the supporting railsr v.End and'cross pieces l4 and I5 arealso'provided at suitable spaced distances tohold the board firmly inposition. In one preferred size of the game the alley is about 12 feetor slightly more in length and if desired it may be divided in twosections as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, cone nected at their juncture'bybolts I6 which extend through adjacent end pieces I4}. the sections be fing accurately aligned by dowel pins I! setup into correspondingopenings [8 in the end pieces;

"Adjacent each end of the alley is a support.

. extremities of the legs 19 by bolt and 'wing nut fastening devices 24,the arrangement being such that either end of the cross piece 22 may bead? justed relative to its adjacent leg to raise or lower that side ofthe alley when the cross piece ex tend below the end of the leg; Withthis a rangement either end of the alley may be sepa rately adjusted forlevelling purposes which. makes it possible to properly set up the alleyon an extremely uneven ground. I Secured to each side rail l2 andprojecting out-J, wardlytherefrom is a longitudinally extending strip 25having a groove 26 in its upper face to form aside gutter in which'ballswill run when they pass off of the alley. These strips ars' e-f cured tothe side rails by fastening bolts or screws 21 and supporting blocks 28are also located at intervals suitably secured in place belowfth estrips 25. for additionally holding them in place. At the end of thealley are a number of bowling pins30, ten in number for aregularbowlingi game. which are preferably spotted oraccuratelypositioned with respect to side boards3 l and a back board 32.Between the side boards and the alley the side' gutters 26 extend-intowider "side the frame spaced above the alley, a flexible member securedto the upper cross piece and extending below the lower cross piece, anda cotter pin at the lower end of the flexible member with its separableends insertable in the bore of the ball and adapted to frictionallyengage the sides of the bore, and the ball being delivered by raising itfrom the frame supported by the flexible member and releasing them, andallowing the ball to swing downwardly to engage the flexible member withthe lower cross piece to discharge the ball from the cotter pin.

2. In a toy bowling game, a ball delivery means for a ball having a boreextendin inwardly and for imparting a curved path to the ball as it isdelivered, said means comprising a frame mounted at the sides of thealley and extending upwardly therefrom with upper and lower crosspieces, the ball being less in diameter than the distance of the lowercross piece above the alley, a cotter pin frictional ball holderextending into the bore of the ball, a flexible cord member adapted tobe twisted connected at its lower end to said cotter pin and connectedto the upper cross piece at its upper end, the ball being delivered byraising it from the frame with the flexible member and allowing it toswing downwardly to contact the flexible member with the lower crosspiece, dislodging the ball from the frictional holder, and the flexiblemember permitting a manual twisting movement of the ball and the memberwhich is reversed as the ball is delivered to impart curved movement tothe ball as it move-s along the alley.

3. In a bowlin game, ball delivery means for a ball having an inwardlyextending bore, said ball delivery means comprising a frame pivoted atits lower end at the sides of an alley, the frame comprising two sidepieces and upper and lower cross pieces, a support movable lengthwise onthe upper crosspiece, a flexible member secured at its upper end to saidsupport and depending below the lower cross piece, and a cotter pinfrictional ball holding member at the lower end of the flexible memberto engage in the bore of a ball, the ball being delivered by raising itfrom the frame at the end of the flexible member and allowing them toswing downwardly until the lower portion of the flexible member engagesthe lower cross piece, thereby dislodging the ball from the holdingmember and impelling it along the alley.

4. In a bowling game, a ball throwing device for a ball having aninwardly extending bore and comp-rising a pair of side piecesindividually pivoted at the lower ends at the sides of an alley, a crosspiece connecting the upper ends of the side pieces, a cross piececonnecting the lower ends of the side pieces, the cross pieces beingloosely mounted in the side pieces to permit a limited separateadjustment of the side pieces with respect to each other tocorrespondingly incline the cross pieces transversely of the alley, africtional holder insertable in the bore of the ball, a flexible cordmember secured to the frictional holder, and a support slidable on theupper cross piece to which the upper end of the flexible cord member isconnected, the said cross pieces being adjustable with the side piecesto impart an angular across the alley movement to the ball from saiddevice.

5. In a bowling ame, a ball having an inwardly extending outer bore, athrowing device for one end of an alley, comprising a pair of sidepieces each adapted to be pivoted at its lower end to one side of thealley and inclinable forwardly and rearwardly from an upright position,upper and lower cross pieces connecting the side pieces, a supportslidable longitudinally on the upper cross piece and freely rotatablethereon, a flexible member connected at its upper end to the support andadapted to be twisted and returning to its original condition whenreleased, a cotter pin ball holding device at the lower end of theflexible member inserted into the bore of the ball and frictionallyengaged therein, the ball being raised with the flexible member extendedand allowed to swing against the lower cross piece to dislodge the ballfrom the frictional holding device to impel the ball along an alley, thepath of the ball being selected by moving the upper holding sup-port toany desired position along the cross piece and a curve being imparted tothe ball on the alley by turning the ball with the flexible memberbefore they are released for imparting movement thereto.

6. In a toy bowling game, a ball throwing device comprising means forfrictionally and releasably engaging a ball, an inclinable frame havingside pieces pivotally mounted at the lower ends at the sides of analley, a cross piece connecting the upper ends of the side pieces, across piece connecting the lower ends of the side pieces above thealley, the frame being adjustable from an upright position forwardly orrearwardly, a flexible cord attached at its upper end to the top crosspiece and adapted to be twisted and to return to its original conditionwhen released and the lower end connected to the frictional andreleasable means for engaging a ball, the ball being delivered byraising it from the frame with the flexible cord and allowing it toswing downward to contact the flexible cord with the lower cross piece,dislodging the ball from the frictional ball engaging means, the rollingmovement of the ball being modified by the forward or rearwardinclination of the frame when the ball is released from the flexiblecord, and the cord being rotatable to impart a curved movement to theball as it moves along the alley.

EVARD A. HAYDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 469,249 Hoyt Feb; 23, 1892668,206 Passow Feb. 19, 1901 759,186 McKenzie May 3, 1904 782,762 ScholzFeb. 14, 1905 1,137,635 Kempien Apr. 27, 1915 1,283,707 Ek Nov. 5, 19181,529,295 Blanchard Mar. 10, 1925 1,564,054 Fisher Dec. 1, 19251,901,947 Bescherer Mar. 21, 1933 2,181,984 Warner Dec. 5, 19392,207,206 Sekretarski July 9, 1940 2,321,553 McFalls June 8, 1943FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,265 Austria Sept. 25, 1900 191,160Great Britain Jan. 8, 1923 458,568 Germany Apr. 14, 1928 485,413 GermanyOct. 31, 929

